Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Tuesday, January 20th

We were a little groggy getting up this morning but very excited. Today we are off to Epcot Center. So we caught the shuttle and began our day.
The whole area is so impressive; it was hard to decide where to start first. But we decided to go to Future World. We went to Mission Space and my Dad and older sisters went into the less intense training. Nobody wanted to deal with motion sickness all day. It was really cool to be able to feel like an astronaut. It felt like we were really in space.
Then we went to the Test track, this is where you get to test drive a car, it is a roller coaster that is the fastest and longest in Disney World. It is bumpy and has really cool turns, you speed through freezing cold chambers, and you go 60 miles an hour.
We did the World Showcase and took the River of Time boat ride through Mexico and a Boat voyage through Norway. We watched a movie about China, and France; had lunch in Italy.
We went to the Spaceship Earth which is a trip back through time. It was pretty cool.
We then did the ride Soarin’ a motion simulator ride. You lift off and look down at some beautiful landscapes, snow covered mountains and then beaches and brings you back over Main street USA and the castle and fantastic fireworks.
We went to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience which is a 3-D show. Pretty cool.
The last thing we did before we left was IllumiNations, Reflections of Earth, the best fireworks I have ever seen. It was the best way to end our time at Disney World. There is so much to see and do but we think we did as much as we could. The rides are amazing and so much fun. We grabbed an ice cream before we walked back to where we would catch our shuttle and just looked at everything as we went. We were so excited to come and now our trip is near the end. But it was so memorable. We had a blast.










Monday, January 19, 2009











Monday, January 19th

Today’s the day. We finally went to Disney World. We were all so excited. Everyone was up early, we had breakfast in our room and were off to the shuttle actually early. All my little sister could talk about on the way there was seeing Cinderella, her castle and the other princesses. My other sisters are all about the rides. Mom wants to see Mickey Mouse and my Dad is more interested in Epcot Centre but we aren’t doing that until tomorrow.
We started out at Magic Kingdom, we saw Main Street USA, rode on the Walt Disney Railroad, and went to Splash Mountain., the log ride was the biggest thrill. It was the best. We also went to Tom Sawyer’s Island. We got to meet Cinderella and Mickey and Minnie Mouse so that was cool. We did the It’s a small world ride and sat through Cinderellabration, a musical show. Then it was off to Tomorrowland where we got to drive a race car at the Indy Speedway, well not quite but that’s what they call it. We did Space Mountain roller coaster, it felt like you were being blasted into space. We did the Astro Obiter and Stitch’s Great Escape. The Swiss Family Treehouse and Pirates of the Caribbean.
We pretty much ran from one thing to another trying to get see everything. Then it was off to Animal Kingdom. The Kilimanjaro Safari was so interesting watching the animals roam across the savannah. We saw elephants, giraffes, rhinos, gazelles and lion. That was my favourite. Its Tough to be a Bug (3D movie) really creeped my mom out. We all had a blast at the Kali River Rapids, and got soaked too.
It was a full day. It was pretty warm out and we were so tired, the line ups were long, but it was the most exciting day we have had. We stayed until they closed the park, then caught our shuttle back to the hotel. We were exhausted and we were coming back to the Epcot Centre tomorrow so we just went to bed.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Map of Orlando

http://www.orlando-maps.info/top_down_maps/default.htm

Map of Orlandohttp://www.orlando-maps.info/top_down_maps/default.htm











Thursday, January 14th

We were up early and went down to the restaurant for breakfast, then caught the shuttle to Wet ‘n’ Wild, excited for our fun filled day of water slides. My sister has been talking about nothing else all night. It is only open from 10:00 to 5:00 so we are going to make the most of our time.
My mom and little sister are not into the big, extreme rides so we separate. Mom goes to the kids park with my little sister and Dad and the rest of us are off to the most extreme rides we have seen.
Brain Wash, Der Stuka, the Storm, Mach 5, and the Bomb Bay. The line ups were about 20-25 minutes but so worth it. They are about 6 stories high, some from a 50’ drop to 250’. The Storm is like being in a cyclone. It took a few minutes to recover from that one. The Bomb Bay was so bizarre, a trap door opens and shoots you out almost straight down, what a rush.
My mom and sister had a lot of fun at the Kid’s park, there is a Lazy River that takes you past replicas of old boat docks and water falls. The Bubble Up, is a pool with a really big wet inflatable bubble that you climb up a rope to the top and then slide or bounce down. There is a pool with a gigantic bucket that dumps water in the pool. There is a bunch of smaller slides too, so they had a blast.
It took all morning to go on these, we didn’t want to quit, but were supposed to meet Mom and my sister at the wave pool and then go for lunch. We were starving, having fun takes a lot out of you. We had burgers, chicken, fries, and then were ready to get back at it.
For the afternoon we decided to stay together and do the tube rides as a family. There is the Disco H2O, with Music and flashing lights; The Surge, and The Bubba Tube. Mom sat out on the the Flyer, you ride a toboggan down a really extreme slide. The Black Hole was like a falling in a black hole, it was so much fun. Just dad and us older girls did the Blast, it was so extreme.
We finished up with the wave pool and just enjoying the sunshine. We thought we would have had time to go back and try some of the rides we did this morning, but the line ups were so long by then so we just ran out of time. We had the most awesome day.
We ended our day by having supper in the hotel and went for a walk around by our hotel. It is so beautiful here, and the evenings are so warm.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009











Wednesday, January 13th

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Good morning! We are off to Sea World and Adventure Park today. We are so excited we could hardly sleep last night. So after a quick breakfast in our room, we pack up and hurry downstairs to catch the hotel shuttle for Sea World.
We arrive at Sea World and begin to get organized. Our big plan is to go to the Shamu Adventure show (the killer whales) and the Whale and dolphin Theatre, they are in the same area as the roller coasters, so that’s where we’re off to.
The Shamu Adventure show was amazing. The killer whales are so beautiful, and so much bigger than I could have imagined. Of course, we sat in the Soak Zone, and got drenched when the whales went by and splashed us. It was so cool what the trainers could get them to do. After the show, Dad and us older girls went to the roller coaster, the Journey to Atlantis. It is a log boat ride with really amazing special effects and the finale is an almost 60’ drop. We didn’t want to stop there so we tried Kraken, the biggest and scariest roller coaster ride that we have ever been on.
After that we needed to settle down a bit so we went to see Clyde and Seamore, trained Sea Lions, they were hilarious. We also say penguins and otters.
After all that excitement, we needed to go and get some food. We ate at Mama’s kitchen, really good food. So after getting rejuvenated, we were off to Wild Arctic. We took the simulator helicopter ride. That was so much fun. We got to see the polar bears, walruses and beluga whales and harbor seals.
I think the most exciting thing of the day was Blue Horizons, the Dolphin show. There was music, dancing and aerial stunts. The dolphins could do amazing tricks, it sure is cool what the trainers could get them to do.
We were a little nervous to pet a stingray but we all wanted to feed the dolphins. You could also go down in a diving cage with more than 50 sharks at the Shark Deep Dive, but none of us were game to do that.
We had an awesome day, the line ups for the shows were about ½ hour and the roller coaster about 25 minutes, which wasn’t to bad, we didn’t think.
We were pretty exhausted by the time we caught our shuttle back to the hotel. We thought we could do something else after supper but all we did was order pizza and crash watching some TV. Mom and Dad sat out on the balcony for a while but we were finished. Gotta be fresh for tomorrow. Wet ‘n’ Wild.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Bridget’s Dream Trip Itinerary

Names of travelers – Bridget, her parents and three sisters

Monday, Jan. 12th

Travel from Meadow Lake, SK to Edmonton, AB
Stay in Western Budget Motel in Leduc, AB close to Edmonton International Airport.

Tuesday, Jan. 13th

Departure- Edmonton, AB (YEG) 10:05 am
Name of the Airline- WestJet
Flight Number-WS654
Local Time Zone – Mountain Standard Time
Arrival – Orlando, FL ( MCO) 22:57 pm
Local Time Zone – Eastern Standard Time
Number of Stops - 1 – Toronto, ON (YYZ) Arrive 15:42 – Depart Toronto, ON
(YYZ) 20:10

Accommodations: Clarion Hotel Maingate
7675 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway
Kissimmee, FL 34747 US
Cost – Flights and accommodations $3,380.71 + taxes, fees and surcharges.

Wednesday, Jan. 14th

Sea World Adventure Park

Thursday, Jan. 15th
Wet ‘n’ Wild

Friday, Jan. 16th
Morning- hang around the pool, relax
Afternoon-shop or go to Sky Venture Orlando Indoor Skydiving
Evening- Tiki Island adventure Mini golf

Saturday, Jan. 17th
Aquatica &
Island of Adventure

Sunday, Jan. 18th
Universal Studios

Monday, Jan. 19th
Disney World



Tuesday, Jan.20th
Disney World
Epcot Centre

Wednesday, Jan. 21st
Air Florida Helicopter
Charter

Thursday, Jan. 22nd

Departure – Orlando, FL (MCO) 14:10 pm
Name of Airline – Westjet
Flight Number – WS 927
Local Time Zone – Eastern Standard time
Arrival – Edmonton, AB (YEG) 21:42 pm WS 519
Local Time Zone – Mountain Standard Time
Number of stops – 1 – Toronto, ON (YYZ) Arrive 16:56 – Depart Toronto, ON
(YYZ) 19:30

Costs

Entertainment:

Pass for 5 places: (Aquatica, Island of Adventure, Universal Studios,
Wet n Wild, Sea World)
Adults $ 234.95 x 2 = $ 469.90
Child. $ 214.95 x 4 = $ 859.80
$1,329.70

Disney World: $1,674.30

Indoor Sky diving $ 265.94

Mini golf $ 55.70

Helicopter charter $ 130.00
$3,4 55.64


Travel and Accommodations:
$3,380.71 (this doesn’t include taxes, fees and surcharges)

Food (approximate) 6 people x 3 meals/day x 10 days x $15.00 = $2,700.00

Cab and other transportation $ 250.00

Incidentals $ 200.00

Fees, taxes etc $ 500.00

Total $10,486.35